Beforest’s Hyderabad Collective hosts Indonesia delegation on dryland farming
A senior academic delegation from Indonesia visited Beforest’s Hyderabad Collective to study dryland agriculture and permaculture practices. The team, comprising faculty from IPB University and the Indonesian Defence University, aims to adapt techniques learned in Hyderabad to similar ecosystems back home.
Hyderabad: A senior delegation from Indonesia visited Beforest’s Hyderabad Collective to study Dryland Agriculture and Permaculture Practices on Thursday.
The visit titled “Lessons Learned on Agricultural Alternatives” was undertaken by faculty from IPB University and the University of Defence.
The delegation had a focus on advancing agricultural practices suited to dryland conditions and identified three locations in Indonesia where insights gathered during the Hyderabad visit will be applied and adapted.
“The climate and soil conditions here are quite similar to what we have in Indonesia, so I believe these techniques – including approaches for karst ecosystems – can absolutely be replicated back home “, said Dr Nadya Farah, a lecturer in the Biology Study Program at the Faculty of Military Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Indonesian Defence University (Unhan RI).
“Our purpose in coming here was to gather as much information as possible, which we will bring back to Indonesia for further discussions”, said Prof Apt. I Ketut Adnyana, Director of Research and Community Service at the Directorate General of Research and Development, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.
Hyderabad Collective is a 132-acre landscape offering the delegation an immersive, field-based experience of how degraded dryland can be regenerated through permaculture.
Over three years of monitoring (2022-2025), combining satellite-based geospatial analysis with on-ground surveys conducted by Beforest with volunteers and experts, the site has recorded a rise in lake capacity from 4.6 million litres to 39 million litres – an increase of roughly 750%.
Biodiversity surveys show bird diversity increasing from approximately 65 to 130 species, butterfly diversity rising by nearly 48%, and odonate populations nearly doubling, indicating improving riparian and water-linked ecosystem health. The collective grows native varieties of rice, vegetables, seasonal fruits and crops like turmeric and chilli.